There have been regular protests along the border since March 30 as Palestinians demand the right to return to homes their families fled or were expelled from during the war surrounding the creation of Israel in 1948.

At least 175 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza since then.

Over the same period, one Israeli soldier was shot dead by a Palestinian sniper.

Israel accuses Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas of manipulating the protests and of seeking to use them as cover to carry out attacks.

This week, it closed its only people crossing with Gaza after violent protests damaged the infrastructure.

Israel said it would reopen the passage next Thursday providing the situation is calm.

Gaza has been under an Israeli blockade for more than a decade, and its Hamas rulers have fought three wars with Israel since 2008.

Some 80 percent of the enclave's two million residents rely on aid, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.